# Congress calls voter roll revision ‘Shah Instigated Removal’ 2026-09-20T13:41:36+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 3 independent outlets Congress on Sunday alleged that the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is a 'massive Shah Instigated Removal of voters' and an 'assault on the Constitution,' citing deletion figures of 7.8 crore names across two phases of the exercise, affecting 13% of the pre-SIR rolls. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said Phase 3, ongoing in 16 states and three Union Territories, has seen 6.18 crore deletions among 36.06 crore covered voters, a 17% deletion rate, with an additional 5.43 crore voters facing risk of deletion. He alleged disproportionate impact on disadvantaged sections and women voters. In Delhi, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal are among over 31 lakh voters served notices for discrepancies. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a petition against the Delhi SIR exercise on September 22. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The Congress party has used the 'Shah Instigated Removal' acronym to frame the SIR process as a politically motivated attack on voter rolls, a charge the Election Commission has not directly addressed as of the reports. The data points cited by Congress, 7.8 crore deletions across two phases and a 32% deletion or risk rate in some states, remain unrefuted by official sources in the coverage. The Congress focus on disproportionate impact on disadvantaged groups and women adds a rights-based dimension that is absent from any counter-narrative. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a related plea on September 22, which will test whether the process follows due procedure. ## Coverage - hindustantimes.com (neutral report) Leads with Congress's 'assault on Constitution' charge and quotes Jairam Ramesh's data, neutral report of party's claims - deccanherald.com (neutral report) Bare-bones wire-style report of Congress charge and Jairam Ramesh tweet, no context or official rebuttal - timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Leads with Congress's 'assault on Constitution' claim, reports 7.8 crore deletion figure without independent verification Tags: Amit Shah, Congress, Delhi, Election Commission of India, Jairam Ramesh, Supreme Court Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/congress-flags-7-8-crore-voter-deletions-dubs-sir-shah-instigated-removal/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/congress-flags-7-8-crore-voter-deletions-dubs-sir-shah-instigated-removal/#story-in-brief